Suspect ordered to provide DNA sample in Lancaster Heights killings

Posted on June 7, 2018

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – An 18-year old man from Normal is being ordered to provide a DNA sample as he awaits trial for a double murder.

Christopher Harrison is accused of shooting Joseph Gardner, 20, and Reginaldt Hart Jr., 19, both from Bloomington, multiple times in the hallway of the Lancaster Heights Apartments on East College Avenue in Normal on April 25.

Gardner and Hart died from a total of 21 gunshot wounds, including some to the back of the head, neck, and back.

Harrison is also accused of having in his possession stolen guns and ammunition, including an AR-15 rifle.

McLean County Judge Casey Costigan approved the prosecution’s request for a DNA sample, which is generally considered routine.

Prosecutors charged Harrison as an adult even though he was 17 at the time of the killings. Harrison was transfered on his 18th birthday June 1 to the McLean County Jail, from the county’s juvenile detention center.

The judge scheduled a status hearing for August 6.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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